And another response about swimming pool fees

26 June 2015

June 25, 2015 To the Editor: It saddens me to see that, once again, the city faces criticism ‎for anything related to our swimming pool. After all, the city has continued to fund our pool generation after generation, making a point to keep it open for the children in our community, and many of the residents don't recognize what it takes to fund such an endeavor. I am all for ensuring that the families here have what they need for our children, but ten bucks per child for an entire summer is a bargain, and now there's even free lunch a few blocks away. This is far and away more than most have in their small towns. When I was my childrens' age, we also had a swimming pool in Lewiston, where we visited each summer. If I remember right, their pool prices‎ were more than $10 per season over thirty years ago. I remember paying to get into the pool there. Our children have gone to the pool nearly every day for the past several weeks, and those swim passes have been worth their weight in gold. Thanks to the amazing work of our lifeguards (yay, Olivia and crew!), both of my boys now love to swim, and I feel safer living near so much water‎. Rather than looking for another year of over-extending the city, it would be nice to see more people thanking them for keeping the pool open and prioritizing it through all of the years when we didn't have adequate funding. Nowhere‎ have I seen a city more concerned about its children having access to a pool and swimming lessons to keep them safe, and nowhere have I seen leaders more concerned about avoiding rate increases. It's about time for all of us to stop looking for issues to complain about regarding city fee increases. It's sometimes necessary for all of us to pay for the conveniences and amenities of having nearly free (less than a dollar per week) entertainment for our children. Sincerely, Val Thompson